Rotella states that “even the greatest players are human, human beings commit mental mistakes, and all golfers can learn from the study of those mistakes.” Regardless of whether someone is a tour professional or a casual weekend golfer, there will always be mental mistakes made in the game of golf, so Rotella’s advice for limiting these errors is the ultimate key to better scores. Practice, practice, practice … Patience is a cardinal virtue in golf. To improve, a golfer must learn how to wait for practice and good thinking to bear fruit.

Spend no more than 30% of time on the full swing—even then, most of this is spent on 3-iron to DriverAs ball-striking skills improve, it becomes a greater challenge to love putting and the short game and to maintain a positive attitude toward them. To score consistently, a golfer must think consistently. A sound, consistent pre-shot routine makes it easier. On the ohter hand, a player with no dreams has little real potential. Not too long ago, a young man from another university came to Charlottesville to see me, looking for help with his golf game. I asked him what his dreams were. I highly recommend this book, especially if you can not pass Doc’s acid test for a good mental game: describe in detail your pre-shot routine. Since I’ve put some of his principles into practice over the last month, the range of my scores has narrowed, and my average scores has reduced by three strokes. More to follow, as I practice and apply the lessons more…

Focus on the present– The present is where you need to play and where you need to stay. You can’t change the past. What is done is done.Take your time to practice your short game. 70% to 80% of your time on the range should be wedges and chips. Get the ball to 120 yards and then let your short game do the rest. Dr. Rotella boasts,

The correlation between thinking well and making successful shots is not 100 percent. But the correlation between thinking badly and unsuccessful shots is much higher." Tom Kite is a great example of a person who dreamed huge dreams, and kept dreaming them in the face of all kinds of supposed evidence that they were foolish. But the dreams I ask about are not the ones that crept from the unconscious the night before. They are the goals and aspirations a golfer has been carrying around in his or her conscious mind. Your pre-shot routine is very important. He suggests: (Choose) Club, Target, Stance, Visualise, Grip, Practice, Waggle, Look at the target then at the ball.Freud believed dreams were a window into the subconscious mind. From them, he spun a web of theory that, too often, boils down to a belief that people are the victims of circumstances beyond their control -- of childhood traumas, parental mistakes, and instinctive impulses. Ch 10 instructs that putting is about attitude and confidence. You must believe that putts will fall, even after missing short ones. Being tentative and overthinking putts is death. Everyone’s mechanics (stance, grip, stroke) differ; that’s because putting is about feel, confidence, and tempo. Pre-shot routine matters: read the green, see the line & target, take practice swings looking at the target, stand over the ball, look at the target, look at the ball, and let it go. We shook hands, and he identified himself as an old friend and competitor of Tom's from boyhood days.